


ain't no other love but you

by sointimate



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-25 07:12:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4951348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sointimate/pseuds/sointimate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ananya’s not too sure why she said it. </p><p>The blood rushed to the surface of her skin and she fucking knew her ears were lighting up like a string of goddamn Christmas bulbs, but honestly, she had no other option. Her boss, Robert “Call-me-Bob” Lewis, leaned forward, his hands rested one over the other on the desk.</p><p>“So you’ve been in a steady relationship for three years? That’s quite impressive.” </p><p>Ananya let out a shaky smile, and shrugged a bit. She had no idea what she was doing.</p><p>“Hm. And what did you say his name was?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello this is my first piece of original work in approximately seven years!! holy shit. 
> 
> anyway, this is my (INCREDIBLY BELATED) birthday present for shirine, hope you like it pal!!!

Ananya’s not too sure why she said it.

The blood rushed to the surface of her skin and she fucking knew her ears were lighting up like a string of goddamn Christmas bulbs, but honestly, she had no other option. Her boss, Robert “Call-me-Bob” Lewis, leaned forward, his hands rested one over the other on the desk.

“So you’ve been in a steady relationship for three years? That’s quite impressive.”

Ananya let out a shaky smile, and shrugged a bit. She had no idea what she was doing.

“Hm. And what did you say his name was?”

 

***

 

“You did what?”

Sid looked incredulous, but Ananya knew this relatively calm period would only last a short time, and frankly, this time was perfectly justified. Claiming Sid was her committed boyfriend of three years, when he was nothing of the sort, was easily in the Top Ten Thoughtless Things Ananya Mukherjee Had Done.

They were sitting in Sid’s favourite diner, the one where they put eggs in the burgers. Ananya considered this disgusting, but she thought getting on Sid’s good side was slightly more important than burger etiquette. Plus, the waitress was sweet on Sid, which meant they always got free shakes whenever they went. Ananya was baffled as to why she liked Sid; Sid looked the same all the time with his dumb grin and sleeveless tees that barely covered his biceps. His shoulders were almost indecently exposed. Ananya honestly didn't see the appeal. Honestly.

“Look, I didn’t have a choice! This new guy -- he’s weird dude, seriously strange. The first thing he did when he came in was hold a staff meeting about family values,” Ananya threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. “We’re a magazine, Sid. Practically a gossip rag."

“..So? That sounds nice of him.”

“Now is not the time to be admiring him. You know what Phil from HR told me? He said that Kevin from the Melbourne branch said he was so obsessed with family values that he almost fired a guy for breaking up with his girlfriend. No one even knows how he found out!” Ananya knew she was probably rocking the crazy eyes, but this was a serious matter. At least the facial twitch hadn’t come in yet.

“So you thought that lying to him about having a boyfriend was better than letting him think you don’t have one at all? You know he can’t actually fire you for being single, it’s against the law.” Doubt flickered across Sid’s face. “At least, I’m pretty sure he can’t fire you.”

“That’s a risk I’m not willing to take. And besides, it’s not like it’s gonna be a problem. I’ll just drop a story about you every now and then. Barely anyone even knows what you look like.”

“I still don't understand why you said my name. This can only end terribly,” Sid muttered. Ananya ignored him; she wasn’t in the mood for Sid’s particular brand of pessimism today.

“Whatever dude. Tell me what’s happening with Kelly. You guys figured your shit out yet?”

Kelly and Sid had been on-and-off for approximately a billion years. They were currently ‘off’ but they still lived together so it was a bit tricky. It was a testament to Ananya’s desperation that she touched the issue she usually avoided.

As expected, Sid let out a weary sigh.

“She’s been hinting that she wants me to move out for weeks now. I’ve been able to ignore it, but the other day I walked in on her making out with our neighbour from across the hall and -- there are just some things I do not need to see. Which means I need to start apartment hunting, fuck.”

Ananya twirled the straw in her shake and said, “You know my apartment is always open.”

Sid shifted awkwardly. “It’s okay; I don’t want to impose.”

The thing about these types of conversations, was that Ananya could never figure out if Sid genuinely didn’t want to impose or if he genuinely didn’t want to live with Ananya. She wouldn’t put it past Sid to insist on being weirdly polite; the guy would tease someone to absolute exhaustion, but put him in a room with someone’s parents and it was like the Queen had walked in or something.

“Besides, I need to be closer to work, so…”

Ananya didn’t mention how her apartment was only ten minutes away from Sid’s place of work, a bakery. Maybe this was Sid’s way of saying no in a polite way.

Thankfully, the food arrived at that moment, and they spent the rest of their lunch break eating their burgers. Throughout, Sid smiled happily at Ananya, so it was plausible to assume Sid wasn't too mad at being Ananya's scapegoat boyfriend.

Everything was coming up, Ananya.

 

***

 

**_Hey Ananya,_ **

**_I’ve been with my roommate for three months and it’s great...usually. On some days she's almost impossible to live with, and everything she does annoys me. Sometimes she'll leave dishes piled in the sink for days, or leave all her hair around the bathroom sink or put her shoes up on the coffee table. I talked to my friends about it, and they're telling me to move out, but I really can't afford it. But I also don't know how normal it is to have a roommate this irritating. What should I do? Is it worth the risk of moving out, or should I suck it up?_ **

**_Worried tenant,_ **  
**_Radhika_ **

_Hey Radhika!_

_Sounds like you have a serious problem there. This may be obvious, but have you talked to your roommate about your problems? If you air out your grievances, she might be more receptive than you think. If you have discussed this, and she's ignored-slash-forgotten your troubles--_

Ananya stopped typing and slumped forward onto her desk. She really had no idea what to do if Radhika's roommate wasn't co-operating. It was too hopeless. Radhika would have to move back in with her parents.

Ananya’s desk was usually a mess, and today was no exception. Printouts of different (and more difficult) questions were everywhere, post-it notes were littered on the floor and on her computer monitor, as well as several cutouts of her favourite pieces from the magazine. Ananya was halfway through trying to sort through her various drawers to find her second lunch, when she heard a throat being cleared.

“You know Ananya, you and your desk are not making a good impression right now,” Sean smirked. Ananya relaxed slightly, partly because Sean was always entertaining to have around, and partly because Ananya's fingers had just found her secret sandwich stash.

"Yeah well, good thing it's only you, yeah?" Ananya smirked around the huge bite she took of her tuna and lettuce sandwich.

"Argh Onion! You've struck me deep and hard!"

"Don’t call me that! Plus I’m totally not even interested in you that way, pal," smirked Ananya, looking up through her eyelashes at Sean. Sean's face turned considering and he leaned down, a small smile playing on his lips.

"If I didn't just hear from a very reliable source that you're in a steady three-year relationship, I would think you were flirting with me," Sean winked.

Ananya groaned and put her face in her hands, peeking out through her fingers. "Does the whole office know?"

"Mm, I guess you could say that, considering I just walked out of the break room and a crowd of people were arguing over whether your boyfriend was a celebrity and you were hiding your sordid affair. Pretty sure Twitter was involved." Sean looked to the side and ran a finger over the edge of a shelf. "So who is this guy, Ananya? How come I don't know about him? How come, in three years, I haven’t heard one peep about him?"

Did Sean sound... Hurt? That wasn't right.

"Well..." Ananya looked at Sean consideringly. Sean was trustworthy right? He'd pranked Ananya the least out of the whole office, and he'd confided in Ananya about his plans to propose to Abby. But he'd also taken compromising pictures of Ananya when she was blind drunk so was giving him more leverage a wise thing to do?

"Come on Anna-yawn, what's the dealio?"

Ananya made a split second decision. She dragged Sean further into her cubicle and pulled him into a crouch near the desk. Ananya then peeked over the walls and into the corridor and when she was satisfied no one was within hearing distance, she crouched down next to Sean.

"I don't actually have a boyfriend," whispered Ananya. Sean's eyes went wide and Ananya hastened to continue. "You can't tell anyone!"

"Banana Ana. Are you saying you lied about having a boyfriend?" Sean's face was unreadable, just a furrowing of eyebrows. Ananya sighed.

"Yeah, but I had to or Robert was going to fire me. It was for my own good," implored Ananya.

Sean shook his head, and Ananya’s heart plummeted. What had the world come to where Sean was disappointed in her? Maybe she should talk to Robert, he’d probably be sympathetic if she started crying--

Suddenly Ananya noticed Sean’s shoulders shaking with barely suppressed laughter.  
“Please,” Sean wiped tears from his face. “ _Please_ tell me your fake boyfriend is Sid.” He pressed his lips together, fighting the giggles bubbling out to hear Ananya’s answer.

“What-- Yeah, I asked Sid,” said Ananya bemusedly. “Why is that so funny?”

Cue more laughter from Sean, as he threw his head back and let out some ridiculously evil cackles. Ananya hurriedly tried to shush him but he was impossible to quiet, the roar coming out of his mouth too loud for her to yell over.

Eventually he quietened down, and stood up, once again shaking his head.

“Anyan Banyan, I am super looking forward to how this plays out. Please keep me updated.” And with that, he walked out, still occasionally chuckling to himself.

Ananya was a bit miffed Sean hadn’t told her what was so funny, but whatever. It was probably because Sid was the worst choice for a fake boyfriend, and nobody, within two minutes of meeting them, would be convinced that Ananya and Sid were in love with each other.

Yeah. That was probably it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhh so late, i'm sorry! also i'm posting this at 5:40am, so if it's riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, please 4give me.

Ananya hovered by the water cooler, making a cup pyramid that was already five layers deep, when she heard Robert's unique drawl drift over the cubicle divider.

"--not like I can't afford it. But I really want to live in the heart of the city, experience what the locals do." He rounded the corner with Ben, his assistant, just as Ananya scrambled to re-stack all the cups in a respectable tower. "Ah, Ananya Mukherjee! Just the person I was looking for. Tell me, how is your neighbourhood?"

Ananya scrambled to find an answer that wasn't "it's totally cheap and low-maintenance which is frankly a rarity in this economy," and mostly succeeded.

"W-well, the neighbourhood is definitely, ah, admirable in its, uh, ability to pull through in times of, um, crises." Ananya had never lied to a person in a position of authority this much. The only crisis her neighbourhood had gone through was when there was a bug infestation in all the mailboxes.

"Oh really? And the community is fine with your... Arrangement?"

"Arrangement?"

"Yes, with you and your partner?"

For one floundering second, Ananya had no idea what was going on, desperately wondering if she’d been paired with someone for an article. And then she realised Robert was talking about her Totally Real boyfriend, Sid. Who apparently lived with her. Of course a three-year relationship meant cohabitation. Jiminy Cricket, Ananya needed to think fast.

"Oh, they don't mind at all!” she babbled. “Mostly because they don't know. I haven't told anyone, I figure it’s not their business." All very true things. Her neighbours definitely didn’t know about Sid being her boyfriend.

Robert silently contemplated this and nodded.

"You're absolutely right. I'm sure there's a certain level of discretion that must be involved in your situation," Rob continued.

Ananya nodded sagely back, completely clueless. Why would she need to be discreet about her boyfriend living with her?

“Well! That’s enough dilly-dallying for now, off to work!” Robert’s voice was, in Ananya’s opinion, way too cheerful. He turned on his heel, Ben rushing off to follow him.

There were too many lies floating about, Ananya couldn’t keep track of them. She needed a drink to get some semblance of control. Maybe many drinks.

At that moment, her phone buzzed with an incoming text.

_this friday 7:30pm @ bungalow8. keen to get turnt!!!!! make sure sid is ready_

Oh thank the Lord above. Nora, her friend since university, had saved the day. Sid’s birthday was on Friday, which meant Ananya just had to get through the rest of the week before she could attain salvation. She could do that. She could hang on for that long.

***

On the big day, Ananya reached Sid's door and rang the bell, fiddling with her wallet chain. Maybe it was a huge fashion mistake but she just knew it would piss Sid off with its tackiness.

The door swung open, revealing Sid in jeans and a white shirt with a few buttons undone at the top, the jerk. Ananya made the mistake once of drunkenly telling Sid how nice his collarbones were, and it had been Collarbone City since then. Boy knew how to work 'em.

"Hey Ana, just give me a fe-- What the fuck is that," Sid's judgemental face was out in full force, eyes zeroing in on the outrageous chain, predictably offended.

"Happy Birthday! I'm guessing you like it," smirked Ananya.

"No. You can come inside but you better leave that at the door," threatened Sid. It was completely ineffective; Sid had the threat levels of a freshly hatched butterfly.

But it was Sid's birthday so Ananya unclipped the chain from her jeans and walked in, depositing the chain in one of the random vases Sid had near his doorway. Their pointless existence continued to baffle Ananya. Sid was allergic to most flowers, so they were always empty. Why have empty vases?

"So Kelly's gone then?" asked Ananya.

"You'd think, but no, she's locked herself in the bathroom, singing about her woes or something," said Sid.

"Ah, Drake. Good choice--" Sid glared hard at Ananya. "--Or not, completely rubbish actually, Drake sucks."

When Sid turned around, Ananya whispered a quick "sorry Father Drake, may the Holy Spirit of Beyonce forgive my mistake," and followed Sid further inside, plopping down on the velvet couch. Sid disappeared into his room, no doubt pouting in the mirror to practice his Look Of Supreme Indifference: The Club Special.

Thankfully, Sid wasn’t feeling like that much of a diva and finished his primping in a few minutes. Sid yelled out a ‘Bye Kelly!’ and ignored the ‘Fuck off!’ that came in reply, grabbing Ananya and steering her out the door.

Luckily the club was close by. Brendan and Nora were already inside, probably being their rowdy selves. The line to get in snaked around the building and spilled out onto the street, but Sid just walked up to the bouncer and smiled as he was let in. The advantages of having customers who loved your custard tarts, apparently.

And sure enough, as soon as Sid and Ananya walked in, they were immediately accosted by two bouncing figures. Tight arms wrapped themselves around Ananya’s body and she struggled to breathe.

“Slowly… dying…” Ananya gasped out, but she still kept her arms around her attacker, because not hugging Nora was a crime. Eventually Nora let go and looked down at Ananya with a huge grin on her face.

As always, Nora was dressed exquisitely. Her incredible height meant she could hug Sid without being smothered, and that she looked fabulous in any kind of dress. For example, tonight she was wearing a baby-blue romper, her tan legs looking shiny and long. Ananya knew for a fact that if she had tried to wear that outfit, she would look like she was wearing an uncomfortably large diaper. Past experience had told her as much.

“Ana, you’re late!” Nora whacked Ananya’s arm. “Brendan and I had to start without you guys,” she giggled as she slipped her arm around Ananya’s shoulders.

Brendan was still hugging Sid, and only let go when nudged by Nora. His curly hair was in disarray and his eyes looked wild.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY SID, MY BOY!” Brendan yelled into Sid’s ear, ignoring his wince. Brendan then turned to look at Ananya, eyes narrowing mischievously.

“Oh no, please don’t,” begged Ananya. Obviously, Brendan ignored her.

“HELLO BANANA, HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?” Brendan, there was no other word for it, glomped Ananya, making sure she could feel the sheer heart radiating off his body. Ananya feebly tried to pat his back, a sorry attempt at calming him down.

Eventually the four of them made their way to the bar, Brendan ordering shots for all of them, and insisted that Sid pay as his ‘gift to all of us, shut up, it totally does make sense’.

***

 

The music was pumping in the club and Ananya was already three shots in, hair escaping from her high ponytail. Brendan and Nora were off doing God-knows-what and Sid was lost in the crowd. Ananya knew she was going to have to venture away from the dance floor to find him. Not that difficult a task, considering how tall Sid was. Just look for the head looming above everybody else. Best bet was probably the pool table, where he was probably hustling some poor schmuck out of his money.

Sure enough, Sid was bent in half at the table, lining up the perfect shot. His jeans did nothing to hide the junk in his trunk and people pressed themselves against the wall to avoid brushing against him. Pretty noble behaviour for a club actually.

Ananya strutted over, licking the remnants of her drink from the side of her mouth, the sugar an addictive rush.

"Hey Siddy boy," Ananya slurred. "What's crackalackin'?"

Raised eyebrows were the only indication that Sid had heard Ananya’s question. He didn’t say anything as his shot ricocheted off the sides and went into the socket closest to his opponent. The man’s face soured as he reached into his pocket and slapped some money onto the table. A small smile tugged at Sid’s lips as he finally looked at Ananya.

“My money is what’s crackalackin’, you li’l pipsqueak,” smirked Sid, as he attempted to ruffle Ananya’s hair. He was definitely tipsy then. It was time for Ananya to do some damage control, before Sid became too drunk to function. Once that happened, he seemed to lose all control of his limbs and assumed that Ananya would be able to support his full body weight. Not only was Ananya incapable of doing that, she was also verging on drunk, so she’d probably collapse to the floor if Sid so much as leaned on her.

“Okay buddy, let’s get you away from here.” She grabbed Sid’s money from the table as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind. The tips of his fingers brushed lightly against the tops of her shoulders, skin on skin. She shivered slightly, probably from how icy his fingers were. She had to shrug him off though, because it was impossible to walk with a six-foot koala attached to her back.

“Come on, Sid.” She grabbed his arm and tugged him to the sofas lining the club. She plopped him down and leaned down, looking into his eyes. Sid’s eyes were glazed and soft, his lips wet. His mouth curled into a soft smile and he brought his hand up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind Ananya’s ear. The gesture was surprisingly tender and Ananya startled.

“Ana, I’m really glad you came out with me tonight,” said Sid, in a surprisingly clear voice. Ananya blinked, and then shook her head.

“Of course! I gotta make sure my boyfriend has a good time,” joked Ananya, laughing awkwardly.

Abruptly, Sid’s face, that had until then been open and happy, shuttered close at Ananya’s words. His gaze shifted away and he looked so distant that Ananya hurried to make it better. Curse alcohol and the mood swings it induced.

“Listen buddy, I’m going to go get you some water, wait right here okay?” Ananya waited until Sid nodded in confirmation before she left for the bar.

When Ananya came back to the sofa with his glass of ice cold water, Sid was gone. She turned around and immediately saw him on the dancefloor, dancing with a red-haired girl. Oh. Well. That was good. It was his birthday, he needed to have some fun. Ananya sat down on the vacated spot left behind by Sid and valiantly tried not to watch them.

The task proved difficult, however. Sid and the other girl were dancing innocently enough until the song playing changed to a raunchier tune, Jeremih’s smooth voice encouraging everyone to get frisky. And frisky it did get, as Redhead slid her arms up Sid’s chest, snaking them around his neck. Her face came close to Sid’s, their mouths inches apart, bodies continuing to grind to the music.

Ananya had to tamp down an inexplicable feeling of relief when Sid moved his mouth away from the girl’s to whisper something in her ear. Redhead must have approved because she smiled and nodded. She leaned forward, but Sid moved back again, instead dropping a chaste kiss onto her cheek. She mustn’t have been too offended because she smiled again and tucked her face into Sid’s neck.

Ananya watched, with a growing sense of doom, as Redhead opened her mouth and licked up Sid’s neck. Sid’s face, that had been smiling, changed into a look of shock as his mouth dropped open. But he didn’t push the girl away. Instead, his eyes seemed to scan the room frantically.

Sid's gaze fell on Ananya and it was so fucking heated that all the moisture in Ananya's mouth abruptly evaporated. She watched as the girl sucked on Sid's neck, while Sid himself maintained eye contact with Ananya the whole time. His eyes were hooded and pinned Ananya to her seat and that-- that wasn’t right.

Resisting the urge to cross her legs, or something Victorian, Ananya wrenched her gaze away. But like a moth to a light, Ananya was drawn back to watching Sid get a hickey. She didn't burst into flames exactly, but it was a close thing. She slammed back the remainder of Sid’s water and stumbled off the sofa, her mind exploding into a cacophony of thoughts.

Her brain and body were waging war against each other. Her brain was shouting for her to sit back down but her body was saying that it would only attain happiness by talking to Sid right then and there. Her body was winning.

She walked over to Sid, squeezing her way between people, and finally reaching Sid. Redhead had detached herself from Sid and was looking at Ananya curiously. Meanwhile, Ananya was cursing herself because she had no clue what she was doing.

Sid looked at Ananya, expression giving away nothing. One of his arms were still around Redhead’s back, but the other was open and almost reaching towards Ananya. He still hadn’t said anything.

Ananya stepped closer, until she had to crane her neck up to maintain eye contact with Sid. His body turned fully towards her, facing her. Redhead slipped from his arms, backing away slowly with a confused smile on her face. Sid didn’t acknowledge her departure, seemingly content with looking searchingly at Ananya. Suddenly, Ananya realised how loud it was, the music blasting through the speakers. For a while, it had seemed completely silent, like her and Sid were completely alone.

They both started speaking at the same time, yelling to be heard.

“Let’s go home?”

“I really want-- Oh,” said Sid. He blinked and seemed to rally himself. “Yeah, yes. That’s probably a good idea. I’ll let Brendan and Nora know I’m dropping you home.” He turned towards the exit, pulling out his phone, no doubt to send them a text. They walked out onto the street and there was thankfully an Uber close-by. The car ride home was mostly silent.

It was only when Sid had walked Ananya to her door, that she remembered he’d tried to say something in the club as well.

“Hey Sid,” Ananya leaned against the doorframe and looked up at Sid. His dark hair was falling into his eyes, and his long eyelashes swept across his cheekbones when he blinked. Was Sid always this pretty? “Hey Sid. Sid. What were you going to say in the club, when I, when I. When we. Same time?”

Thankfully, he understood what Ananya was drunkenly trying to say. He looked at her for a moment, his gaze assessing, before he shook his head and smiled.

“It was nothing important. Go to sleep Ananya, we’ll talk tomorrow.” And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Ananya to stare after him.


	3. Chapter 3

The light was filtering through the threadbare curtains and Ananya’s head was pounding. Against her better judgement, she tried to open her eyes and was immediately assaulted by millions of colours. There shouldn’t even be that many colours, scientists would have said something. She shoved her face into a pillow and let out a groan. It kind of made her feel better so she did it again but louder, while waving her arm across the bed trying to find her phone. 

Her fingers closed around the familiar rectangular object, and she opened her eyes to check the time. It was a nice respectable time, just a little after noon, so she didn’t feel too bad about waking up.

Last night though. She felt bad about last night. In the hot light of day, her cock-blocking actions made her feel like a complete asshole. Cutting into Sid’s hookup and demanding to go home? God, Sid must’ve been so pissed. Ananya still wasn’t clear as to why she did what she did, but that was not going to fly with Sid. She needed to think of a better excuse.

In the meantime, breakfast.

Ananya had a strong pot of coffee brewing when she got a text message.

_Just checking you’re alive. U OK?_

Ananya huffed a laugh. Either Sid didn’t remember last night, or he was a bloody great friend. Ananya was leaning towards the latter.

She shot off a quick text, reassuring Sid she hadn’t died of alcohol poisoning, and poured her coffee. She took it black, because she was in the mood for punishing herself, and turned on the television. 

She was halfway through a rerun of Friends when she realised she hadn’t checked her mail in weeks. Hell, the bills needed to be paid and here she was, sitting her ass on the couch that still needed to be paid for. She pulled on her robe and jogged downstairs.

Ananya had just put her key into the mailbox when she saw a truck park itself in front of her building. Curious, Ananya watched two men climb out, open the doors and start pulling out boxes. One of the guys caught Ananya's gaze, and she was just about to walk up to him, maybe get his name, when a familiar blue Volkswagen sidled near the curb, right behind the truck.

A single drop of cold horror trickled down Ananya's neck and settled somewhere around her lower back, as she watched Robert Call-Me-Fucking-Bob Lewis step out of his wanktastic car.

Ananya was so bloody done for. 

She grabbed her mail and booked it up to her apartment, robe waving wildly. She threw the door open and then slammed it closed, leaning against it, heart hammering wildly. What the-- how the hell--

Ananya pulled out her phone and knew there was only one person she could call at this point.

The phone rang, and a soft "Hey, Ananya," came through the earpiece.

“Sid, please tell me you’re still trying to find a flat. Please.” Anxiety crept into Ananya’s voice, the unravelling of her plan happening right before her eyes. This wasn’t the type of conversation one should conduct on the phone, but one was fucking desperate, alright?

“Yeah, I’m still looking, why? What’s wrong?” Sid said worriedly, which, screw him, why did something have to be wrong? Granted, he was right, but it was the principle of the matter.

“Well, let’s just say things have taken a terrible and unforeseen turn. Which no one could have predicted.”

“Your boss found out you were lying about having a boyfriend, huh.” Ananya was going to punch him in his smug face.

“No! He doesn’t know,” that part was true at least. “But he could find out very soon. Turns out he’s moving into my apartment building! Which, you know, is already quite fun. But he’s also under the impression that we’ve been living together for two years.”

“...But I don’t live with you, Ananya.” Sid was remarkably observant sometimes.

Biting the urge to be sarcastic, Ananya took a deep breath. She had to be careful not to piss Sid off; she had to be the epitome of reasonable and persuasive. Think cool, calm and collected, Ananya.

“Move in with me,” she blurted out. Oops.

“What.”

“Please!”

“Ananya! I can’t just move in with you! There's... Stuff to consider!" Sid sounded more desperate than Ananya at this point, which was frankly impossible and also insulting. What was Sid's damage?

"Okay dude, I have been more than patient with your weirdo reluctance to move in with me even though it's obviously the most natural plan of action! I live so close to Batty's Patty's--"

"--Betty's Pastries--" interrupted Sid, which like, really? Was now the time?

"What the frick ever, you know what I mean! I live so close, Kelly needs you out, you want out, why wouldn't you move in with me?" Ananya bit her lip worriedly, as she dealt with the silence on the other end of the line.

And then, the most magical of sounds: Ananya heard Sid groan and proceeded to rejoice.

"Fine! I'll move in with you! But you owe me so bad, Ananya. You're going to spend the rest of your life making it up to me,” he threatened.

"I will, I swear I will, thank you so much, love you, bye!" Ananya was babbling but she didn't care. She hung up and collapsed onto her couch in relief.

And then she sat up and called Sid back because they had to plan his moving in, _without_ Robert spotting them.

Fan-bloody-tastic.


End file.
